A decade in, Studio Ghibli Fest keeps growing as new generations flock to ‘Totoro,’ ‘Ponyo’ and more

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Ghibli expands its footprint

The biggest year for Ghibli Fest was 2024, when 14 movies accounted for $16.4 million in sales. Last year, eight movies grossed $10.6 million. This year, both “Ponyo” and “My Neighbor Totoro” have already played for popular five-day stints.

Shannah Miller, vice president of marketing for Fathom, a company owned by the country’s top theater chains, has watched demand keep expanding.

“When we started, I think our theatrical footprint was about 640 locations,” Miller says. “This year, we’re crossing over 1,100 locations. We started with two, maybe three playdates for a particular title, but due to fan demand, we have five-day runs for some titles.”

When GKids first got Ghibli library in 2011, the Japanese studio emphasized how important theatrical was to them. First GKids hosted retrospectives, mostly in major markets and at arthouses. But Ghibli Fest moved the movies into multiplexes where a new generation of kids might stop before a cardboard cutout of Kiki (from “Kiki’s Delivery Service”) or No Face (from “Spirited Away”) and wonder if there might be animated movie worlds beyond Disney.

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‘More fun than HBO Max’

This year’s fest continues with “Tales of Earthsea” (Aug. 8, 10), “Only Yesterday” (Aug. 9, 11), the 40th anniversary of the first Ghibli release, 1986’s “Castle in the Sky” (Aug. 22-26), a 4K remastered “Princess Mononoke” (Sept. 26-30) and finally a 25th anniversary for “Spirited Away” (Oct. 17-21).

While some of these movies are revived in other countries, Ghibli Fest is so far a strictly U.S.-based phenomenon.

“We are equally in awe of and proud of what we’re building and the opportunity to celebrate instead of all the doom and gloom, ‘Is theater dead?’ conversations,” Miller says. “We have a different story to tell with Studio Ghibli.”

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“The Ghibli films are timeless. There’s something for everyone in them,” Lector says. “Everything feels human. No one is too powerful or too small.”

That can go for audience members, too. VanCleave recently noticed a classmate of her daughter’s wearing a bow like Kiki’s.

“I saw her mom and asked about it. We got to talking, and she also had watched Ghibli movies at home,” VanCleave says. “So, we invited her to ‘Ponyo,’ and it was her first movie theater experience. It was cute. The two 3-year-olds shared a recliner.”